A Global Message Of Peace From Lucknow

Lucknow: During the Eid-ul-Zuha namaz on Friday, the Shia and Sunni Muslims prayed together at the Sibtainabad Imambara in Lucknow sending out the message for sectarian unity.

The prayer was part of an initiative driven by the citizens. Usually, the Eid prayers are held separately for the two sects in Lucknow as is everywhere else.

The organisers maintained that they wanted to send a strong message of brotherhood.

"There are those in pursuit of 'satya' (truth) and those who cherish 'satta' (power), and true religion lies in upholding the truth," said Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, one of the participants in the namaz.

The initiative started on WhatsApp group in Lucknow. Thereafter a Facebook event page, ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ was created and drew attraction from large number of people. “We know each other since our childhood,” the Facebook page said, while inviting people to the event. "We shared the same classrooms, same dreams, same fears, ate from the same lunch box. We even share the same memories. But we never stood shoulder to shoulder for Eid prayers. It's time for a change."

Moreover, to ensure that everything goes as planned, the organisers even obtained endorsements for the joint namaz from top religious authorities that included Maulana Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani of Iran. Also, the initiative was welcomed by clerics from both the sects.

To make sure that the event is peaceful, SSP Rajesh Kumar Pandey deployed several police personnel at the venue.

Think if Islamic State (IS), Iraq, Iran, Saudia, Pakistan and entire middle east – it is mostly a war between Shias and Sunnis. In Lucknow this Id-ul-zuha, both Shias and Sunnis attended a namaz in Lucknow. In a first-ever, this joint Namaz at a Shia mosque was led by a Sunni Imam. This was a planned event to send out a message of sectarian unity to the whole world.

Where this has a message for the Muslims of the world to seek peace, it also seems to be indicative that the Muslims in India are becoming a mature community trying to find a foothold in the Indian politics.

(image courtesy: http://goo.gl/NWEY3W)

The views expressed here are those of the authors and doesn’t reflect the official
policy of Janpratinidhi.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and doesn’t reflect the official
policy of Janpratinidhi.